Workforce Update: “Grow Your Own” Healthcare Leaders
CPCA continues to be dedicated to working with community health centers (CHCs) and external partners to “grow our own” workforce and train the next generation of healthcare leaders. This summer, we brought forward critical training opportunities and important policy discussions to highlight and enhance the role CHCs play as leaders in this space.
Cultivating Community-Based Graduate Medical Education
Our Association continues to pave the way for community-based graduate medical education in California’s CHCs. As part of our CHC Residency Road Map, we hosted another two-day in-person training on August 8th and 9th in partnership with Wipfli, LLP. This event educated CHCs on ways to strengthen their existing Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs and partnerships. Twelve speakers from academic institutions, hospital systems, and partner organizations across the state joined us to share their expertise on innovative curriculum, educational quality, scholarly activity, resident wellness, and many other topics. If you missed this training, do not worry. The recordings for all presentations given at this training will be available on our CPCA webcasts webpage in September, where you can also currently find recordings on the basics of GME program development. If you have any questions about this work, please contact Nataly Diaz, CPCA Associate Director of Workforce Development, at ndiaz@cpca.org.
MedicalAssistant+ Program
CPCA launched a new MedicalAssistant+ Program alongside Macman Management Healthcare Services this summer! This six-month training and retention program is a combination of online and in-person sessions that help build the necessary skills to ensure an MA can be a successful member of care team, and guides MAs towards career advancement and certification. Several MAs from CHCs across the state are actively engaged in the inaugural cohort and are developing robust skills within learning areas such as:
Understanding Community Health Centers
Professionalism
Effective Care Teams
Quality Improvement & Data
Social Determinants of Health
If you have questions about this program, please contact Christina Hicks, Director of Health Center Operations, at cmhicks@cpca.org.
Health Workforce Policy Coalition
The Health Workforce Policy Coalition came together for an in-person meeting on July 25th to discuss the merits and challenges around specific California Future Health Workforce Commission recommendations. The group reviewed seven recommendations that closely relate to the Coalition’s stated priorities of residency redesign, incentivizing primary care health professions, and educational equity. These strategies collectively provide a holistic approach to addressing California’s healthcare workforce challenges and create a health careers pathway that supports workers from education to employment. Approximately 30 stakeholders were in attendance to discuss joint opportunities for moving some of these pieces forward in a 2020 advocacy plan. Interest among the group remains high to expand educational opportunities from pipeline to employment in order to meet California’s health care needs and increase the diversity of the healthcare workforce. If you have any questions about the Policy Coalition, please contact Christina Hicks, Health Center Operations Director, at cmhicks@cpca.org.
Leadership Development Training Program
CPCA continues to prioritize professional development opportunities that expand and support the healthcare professions, and this includes a focus on health center leadership succession, inclusion and diversity. CPCA has engaged a consultant team to help us better understand leadership diversity within community health center settings, and to help us develop and tailor a leadership development training program that supports equity and inclusivity. In addition to collecting data through our membership satisfaction survey and a soon-to-be released workforce development survey, you will also see special opportunities during CPCA’s annual conference to engage with our consultant team about CPCA’s leadership training development efforts. Keep connected to learn more about this exciting effort and contact Christina Hicks (cmhicks@cpca.org) if you have any questions.